Los Angeles Lakers: 4 early in-season buyout candidates
By Jason Reed
2. Thaddeus Young
While it is nice that the Los Angeles Lakers signed another big it would have helped the team more if that big was a power forward. There was a larger need at the power forward position as it would have taken some minutes away from Anthony Davis while allowing him to play more center and adding depth there as a result.
On the flipside, adding Jordan does allow Davis to do more of what he likes, play the power forward position, while easing him into playing more five, which he absolutely has to do once the playoffs roll around.
As the Lakers make that transition of Davis playing more five with the intent of mostly phasing out the centers in the playoff rotation, they could look to pick up a power forward. If they are lucky, Thaddeus Young would be on the market.
Young as a throwaway contract that was included in the DeMar DeRozan trade. While he is a sneaky good power forward that can help with floor spacing, he is not going to move the needle much for San Antonio, who project to be one of the worst teams in the Western Conference next season.
There is a better chance that Young gets traded as his contract is $14.5 million but it is not a guarantee. It would take a contending team flipping a valuable young asset with a similar contract to convince the Spurs and to make the money work. Is it worth trading a younger rotation player for Young? Probably not.